Find out the scoop on the CAVS from award-winning sports writer Bob Finnan.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Wait til next year

Cavs forward LeBron James left the building in a huff.

He didn't talk to the media after the game. He put on his headphones and walked to the bus.

Late in the game, he was upset on the bench during a time out.

He often times blows off the exit interviews with the media. We might not hear from him until media day. Maybe at his bike-a-thon in Akron.

Many national media guys pondered after the game whether he would be fined by the NBA for blowing off the media. I would guess not.

It will fuel speculation that he's not happy. And, God knows, everyone wants to keep him happy. This time next year, he could be close to becoming an unrestricted free agent.

MISS SOME SHOTS - After making 17 3s in Game 4, the Magic banged in 12 on Saturday.

The Cavs kept waiting for the Magic to miss some shots in the Eastern Conference finals. It never happened.

They kept banging in 3-point goals like they were going out of style. Center Dwight Howard had 40 points and 14 rebounds. So, basically, they didn't stop either facet of the Magic's game.

REMOTE CONTROL CAR - Cavs guard Mo Williams was brought to the postgame press conference area after James' exit.

He likened losing in the Eastern Conference finals to being disappointed as a kid on Christmas Day. If you opened 10 presents on Christmas and still the remote control car you were dying for hasn't appeared.

"You’re disappointed," Williams said.

"I guarantee you, I never thought we’d win 66 games this season and be in the Eastern Conference finals. We had a hell of a year. We were confident we were going to the NBA Finals and thought we were going to win it. We thought we had the team to get it done."

CLEAN OUT LOCKERS - The players will be available at 4:15 p.m. on Sunday at Cleveland Clinic Courts. Coach Mike Brown and GM Danny Ferry will meet with the media on Monday.

Season of dreams almost over

Admit it, we've all seen signs of this happening in the Eastern Conference finals.

I tried to caution everyone that would listen that this could happen against Orlando. Well, the Magic are up 3-1 and have a chance to close it out on Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena.

Since 1947, teams that have a 3-1 lead have won 182 of 190 series. For those of you who don't have a calculator, that's 95.6 percent of the time.

The Cavs might win Game 5, but the Magic are a better team. They have too many weapons, too many deadly shooters and the best big man in the game. It adds up to a possible championship team.

But this was supposed to be the Cavs' year. They have the best player in the league, the best record in the league and set a bushel full of franchise records. What does it all mean? Not a thing if the Magic go to the NBA Finals.

The Cavs have said all season that if they don't win the title, it will be a disappointing season. The way it's coming to an end, there's going to be much disappointment.

The Cavs have been grasping at straws for a couple games. They've tried every defensive tactic possible. He's tried Sasha Pavlovic and now Wally Szczerbiak off the bench. Nothing has worked.

And, now, the season is close to being over. It's going to be difficult to put a capper on the 2008-09 season, but it's almost here, like it or not.

Mo wasn't holding back

Often in situations like the Eastern Conference finals, players have a way of giving politically correct answers.

Williams didn't exactly hold anything back in his post-game address in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday.

First, he said he thought the Cavs were giving the Magic too much respect. That's going to get a lot of play, especially from a team that might be on its last leg in the series.

It might not be the wisest thing to say right now. It's not like they need to add any more fuel to the Magic players.

Also, when asked if it was a dirty play when Magic guard Anthony Johnson elbowed him, he replied, "Absolutely."

JUST WIN, BABY - Borrowing a phrase from Raiders owner Al Davis, the Cavs just need a win in this series. A win in Game 4 on Tuesday would even the series at 2 games apiece heading back to Cleveland.

All would be good in the Cavs' world. But a loss in Game 4, forget it. It's over.

The Cavs aren't practicing today.

DEADLINE PRESSURE - The networks used to worry about the late games affecting papers in the East time zone. Not any more. Game 3 started about 8:47 p.m. It almost lasted 3 hours - 2:58 to be exact. Then people wonder why stories aren't stocked full of flowery quotes.

DIVINE INTERVENTION? - In the playoffs, NBA TV announcers ask questions in the post-game press conference from their studio. The players on the podium don't have any idea where the questions are coming from.

Rust never sleeps

Cavs forward LeBron James suggested that maybe it was time to dust off swingman Sasha Pavlovic, who has become an afterthought to Coach Mike Brown.

While Brown was driving to the arena before Game 2, he decided it was time to insert Pavlovic in his rotation. Do you think James' words carry some weight around these parts?

Pavlovic was big in the first half with seven points, one rebound, two assists and one steal. He finished with nine points and looked like he should have been in the rotation all along.

The Cavs are getting absolutely nothing from Boobie Gibson. Wally Szczerbiak is playing his butt off when he's getting into games, but there's been little production. Why not go with the hot hand?

Pavlovic needs to play in this series against the Magic. He can guard the Magic's stretch bigs - Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis.

The Cavs' bench has been totally outplayed by the Magic. They've been outscored in the first two games, 51-19. Brown has been defending his team's bench play. But he'll definitely welcome some scoring and more production off the bench.

WKNR'S KENNY Roda cracks me up sometimes. He has been calling Orlando center Marcin Gortat "Borat" in the Magic series. Gortat is a native of Poland.

JAMES IS averaging 42 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists in the first two games of the series. He's also shooting 60.4 percent from the field.

GUARD MO Williams has made 13 of 40 shots from the floor in the first two games. He checks in at 32.5 percent. It's even worse from the 3-point line - 3 of 14 for 21.4 percent. This guy has the ability, though, to break out of it at any time. He's never been this far in the playoffs in his career. The Cavs need him to snap out of it. On the positive side, he's averaging 18 points in the first two games.

Some face time

We'll finally know tonight who the Cavs will play in the Eastern Conference finals.

In the News-Herald's Cavs playoff edition, I was asked to predict the outcome of all the playoff series. I even consulted with a front-office executive and disagreed with many of his picks.

The point? I have yet to miss one of my predictions. I'm sure there will be a bonus in my next paycheck.

I picked Orlando to win its second-round series over Boston. The Magic has had every opportunity to win this series already, but have crumbled down the stretch in a couple of those games.

If I had to predict right now, though, I'd have to go with the hated Celtics (at the expense of my perfect slate!). They are mentally strong, which makes a big difference in Game 7s. I can't say the same thing about the Magic, from the head coach on down.

It should make for some good viewing at 8 tonight on TNT.

I'll be on WKYC-TV tonight following the news at 11:30 p.m. to discuss the Eastern Conference finals matchup. I'll be on with Channel 3's weekend sports anchor, Dave Chudowsky.

Also, I'll be joining Marc Steenbarger on the popular internet show, Moohead Radio, at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Fans can access it by clicking on: http://mooheadradio.com. Listeners might hear me "moo" at the end of the segment.

I'll try to check in again on this blog-o-sphere before Game 1 on Wednesday.

P.S.: I got a mild complaint from my buddy, Cavs PR guy Garin Narain, the other day. "Every time I go to your blog, it's only two or three sentences long," he said.

Just so you know, when we set up this blog, I was asked to blog on game days. I've been doing many "bonus" blogs since the Cavs have been going NINE days in between series. Expect more action on this blog in the coming weeks.

James' mastery

I was fortunate enough to watch Michael Jordan play in the NBA. I'm starting to see some similarities in Cavs forward LeBron James.

In seven postseason games this season, James is now averaging 33.7 points, 10 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 2.1 steals. What's amazing is that he's shooting 55.1 percent from the field.

He also made the media wait almost an hour after the game. But, hey, how could you write your story without James' quotes after his 47-point output?

If you say you can't, you're right.

This guy keeps getting better as the playoffs progress. He looks for reasons to go off. It could be his pregame chicken tenders weren't warm enough. It could be anything.

On Saturday, it was some loud mouth in the front-row seats at Philips Arena. He was chirping a little too much. That's all James needed. He wanted to show up that guy, and 47 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists later, he accomplished his job.

Who knows what the guy was saying? James did that one time in Toronto when Chris Bosh's then girlfriend made some unflattering comments. That's all James needed to hang a 50-point night on the Raptors.

James celebrated his big night on Saturday with a party in Midtown Atlanta. After his big night, he deserved to relax a bit and have some fun.

Hawks are toast

If Joe Johnson's ankle injury is serious - he left wearing a boot on his right foot - the Hawks will not win a game in this series.

The Cavs are up 2-0 and are playing at a high level. Johnson sprained his ankle in the third quarter, but he was having another pedestrian outing - 5 of 15 from the field.

The Hawks were already hurting with center Al Horford and forward Marvin Williams sidelined. Johnson's injury could be the death blow.

THROWING THE HAMMER DOWN - Wally Szczerbiak's dunk in the second quarter sparked the overflow crowd.

"The team gets a kick out of it when I throw one down," he said. "That's No. 4 or 5 on the year."

DANCING USHERS - You had to see it to believe it. Hip hop star Usher attended the first two games of the series. On Thursday, when the Dancing Usher got up and did his thing, the real Usher joined in. It was quite a scene.

Playoff sked

PAT ON MY BACK TIME: I picked two upsets in the first round of the playoffs: Houston over Portland, and Dallas over San Antonio. I also took Atlanta over Miami. We'll find out if the Hawks can prevail Friday night.

* * *SCHEDULE UPDATE: I just received this schedule from the NBA office. I figured you'd want to see the schedule for the second round.